Monday, November 29, 2010

Ministry Wish List

People often ask the questions "How can I help?" and "What more do you need?" This is a list of some of the areas we can use help with. Thank you!

 Non-perishable food and baby items for our pantry
 Turkeys and Hams for Christmas
 Toys & Gifts (0-17), batteries (all sizes), and gift wrap for Christmas
 Toiletries and cleaning supplies for our clients
 Office Supplies- paper, pens, black markers, tape, clipboards
 Bibles for our clients- can be purchased for just over $2.00 from American Bible publishers
 White boards in good condition; white board markers
 Tissues, paper products, cleaning supplies, zip lock bags
 Plastic grocery bags, egg cartons
 Prizes for Charity Challenge and Christmas in July Silent Auction
 Employment Leads- are you hiring- know anyone who is? We would like to know!
 Graphic designer for posters and flyers
 Printing
 We are in need of additional space- if you know of someone who can help us with this, please let us know
 Volunteers- Employment Counseling, Food Pantry, Special Projects, Public Relations/Marketing, Dove Tree Drivers, Christmas volunteers
 Prayer- we are always in need of prayer

Contact our office at 407-834-4022 Jackie Bradley for Volunteers, Jackie Normand for other interests.

We appreciate you thinking of us!

Friday, November 19, 2010

Happy Thanksgiving from Christian HELP

Can you believe it is that time of year already? 2010 has been a really difficult year and yet we were constantly reminded how great our God is. Below we wanted to list a few things we have been thankful for this year.



CHRISTIAN HELP IS THANKFUL FOR:


•God - who is the CEO of Christian HELP
•The supporters, volunteers and staff who give of themselves each day
•The Doctor who brings us eggs for our clients
•The Business leaders who spread the word about us
•The Moms who drop in grocery bags, diapers and whatever else they think we need
•Our team who are so close - literally sharing office space
•Churches who invest in our Mission
•YOU!


And lastly we are so thankful we are able to serve those in need and show the love and compassion of our Saviour Jesus Christ!!!

Our Christian HELP staff wish you and your family a Happy Thanksgiving!




http://christianhelp.org

Friday, November 12, 2010

A local Christmas Story- can you help?

An adoption application from one of our clients today:

I came here in hopes for getting a better a better job, so that I can provide a basic standard of living for my son. I was in a bad marriage. We came to Florida for a new life. He was 10 then. We lived humbly sleeping on a floor and eating oatmeal for dinner. My son’s response was “Mom, I thank God for you.”

He has a 3.5 GPA and is studying to be an engineer. He was accepted at Bishop Moore, but I lost my job. He is a tall, gentle, skinny kid. He tells me to put one slice of meat in the bread because our food has to last, and pretends to be full, so that I will eat more.

I want his remaining teenage years with me to be comfortable. Since losing my job we are down to humble means again, but ALIVE with the Spirit of the Lord. We pray together and that’s what keeps us going.

He needs a computer with enough RAM memory to keep up with his school. I am really surprised that you offer to help with gifts. I cannot provide this for him. My number one concern is for food and rent. Whether we are gifted or not, I am humbled and truly appreciative just for your kindness in asking and caring. TS

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Can you HELP at Christmas?

Imagine a little 8 year old girl, waiting for Christmas to come with youthful anticipation, waking up on Christmas morning not only to see there are no gifts under the tree, but there is no tree.

Imagine a single dad doing all he can to provide for his family having to make do with a Christmas dinner of Ramen noodles.

Imagine a wife who has lost her husband after 20 years of marriage because he “doesn’t love her anymore”, trying to wrestle with her own issues and provide a nice Christmas for her children when she hasn’t had a job in several years.

Christian HELP has been providing Christmas to families in need for 15 years through the generous support of the community. This year the need is even bigger than ever. Unemployment is up, salaries are down, and underemployment is at an all time high. People are suffering. Some don’t even want to think about Christmas because it puts a knot in their stomach knowing that they cannot provide for their families. They dread the sadness in their children’s eyes when the kids say “Mommy it is ok, we can do without.”

Each Christmas we work with businesses, churches, and individuals to provide Christmas for needy families in the Central Florida area. This year we have a new challenge as one of our large sponsors will not be able to participate with us. This makes it even more challenging to provide for all of the need. The families we see are experiencing unemployment or under-employment as a result of the economy. We are working with them at Christian HELP to provide skills training, resume assistance, and coaching in order to help them obtain employment.

We are asking you to consider placing a Dove Tree in your location or Collection box for a toy drive for our HELP GIVE Christmas event. The Dove tree comes with Dove cards labeled from newborn to age 17. Each card has 3 gift suggestions people can select from and return the unwrapped gifts to your location. Volunteer drivers will come and pick up the gifts to be distributed at Christian HELP. Generally the tree goes up the week of Thanksgiving until the week before distribution.

Volunteers are welcome to come and participate in the Distribution process in December. Please consider helping us to help our community. We can make a difference, one family at a time.

About us:
Christian HELP is a non profit devoted to preventing homelessness by helping the unemployed find jobs while providing for them materially and spiritually. Last year, we were able to help over 6,000 people find jobs, we gave away over half a million pounds of food, helped 644 families to have Christmas, and spent $56,000 keeping people in their homes and the lights on.

Additionally, if you would like to get involved in other ways, please visit our website at www.Christianhelp.org or come and see us at one of our Monthly luncheons.

We appreciate your generosity.

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

Why Christian HELP is Unique

One of our team members sent this to me as we deal with all sorts of distractions each day as a reminder of why we are so unique.

There is no other like us, and we do what we do to glorify God's name.

We are not just a food pantry.
We are not just a ministry that prays and cares for people.
We are not just a non profit that has a Christmas Program that helps hundreds and hundred of families.
We are not just a placement agency that has employment counselors, computer resource center, job skills class, and resume coaches.
We are not just networking group for hundreds of employers in Central Florida We are not just a ministry that outreaches to central Florida's unemployed through seminars and job fairs.
We are not just a ministry that has an online job board with some jobs and a website with resources.
We are not just a agency that partners to specialize in helping Central Florida residents get back to work.
We are not just a non profit that has hundreds of volunteers who help us with God's mission.
We are not just a ministry that will work tons of extra hours to get God's work done and do all that it takes to get the work done AND help the unemployed feel encouraged.
We are not just a ministry that does all of this with 19 employees where nearly half are part time.

What we are is God's servants who are directed to serve his people and to do it in such a way that glorifies his name and to carry out his vision.

Sandi